No-prison deals struck over parents’ fatal shooting of son in New Braunfels criticized as too lenient

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SEGUIN — A New Braunfels couple initially charged with murder over the shooting death last year of Felix “Tony” Nieves, the wife’s son, avoided prison time under plea deals finalized Wednesday that were faulted by some as too lenient.

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Nieves, 17, was slain on Easter by his stepfather, George “Alex” Coryell, during an altercation at the family home in New Braunfels with his mother, Jennifer Coryell, in which she claimed he’d used a stun gun on her and hit her with a bat.

Two younger children of Jennifer Coryell, 44, also were home when the shooting occurred.

With defense attorneys arguing the shooting was self-defense, special prosecutor Heather McMinn negotiated sentencing agreements in August under which Alex Coryell, 49, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and Jennifer Coryell pleaded guilty to attempted manslaughter.

Approving the plea deals Wednesday, state District Judge Gary Steel sentenced Alex Coryell to 10 years’ probation and ordered him to pay a $4,000 fine and to undergo substance abuse treatment at a secure facility.

Jennifer Coryell received eight years’ probation, a $1,500 fine and also was ordered into a secure substance abuse treatment program.

McMinn noted afterward that gaining convictions was far from certain had the cases gone to trial, citing inconsistencies in witness statements.

“There was some very strong evidence that Alex was in fear of Felix,” she said, noting Nieves was on probation at the time for a family violence charge after a 2015 attack on Alex Coryell.

Stephanie Hoover, Jennifer Coryell’s sister who took custody of Coryell’s younger children soon after Nieves’ death, complained in a victim impact statement that her sibling had gotten off too easily.

“Not only was justice not served for Felix or his family, she won! She gets to spend the rest of her life with the man she wants instead of her children,” Hoover said in the message read in court by McMinn, who’d initiated the prosecutions before stepping down as district attorney here last year.

Hoover, reached Wednesday by phone at her New Jersey home, said the accounts of the shooting provided by Coryell’s children differed from the defense version, with Felix pleading for his life before Alex Coryell fired the second, fatal shot.

James Milan, the court-appointed defense attorney for Jennifer Coryell, disputed the kids’ accounts, saying they were downstairs when the shooting occurred upstairs.

He said he wanted to go to trial, but his client took the plea deal even though “she’s not going into this with a guilty mind.”

Attorney Dick DeGuerin, who represented Alex Coryell, said after the hearing, “Alex was trying to protect Jennifer, his wife. This kid was tasing her and beating her and Alex did what he had to do.”

“From the very beginning, he’s been troubled greatly by the fact that he had to take his stepson’s life,” said DeGuerin, “It’s a tragedy for everybody.”

The only other victim impact statement in the cases was made by Heather Austin, Alex Coryell’s ex-wife, who quoted their own two children, who were friends with Nieves, as saying, “They believe you should go to jail, pay restitution … go to the doctor for help and stay away from all children.”

Austin, a Schertz resident, described her former spouse afterward as “extremely violent,” and said of the absence of prison time for the defendants, “We’re not happy with it.”